Plugged In

Fastest-selling sports game is football, isn’t Madden

EA's hit football game Madden 11 posted good sales this year, up 12%
year-on-year with last season's release. But it wasn't the best-selling
sports game of the year. In fact, it wasn't even the best-selling football game of the year.

Nope, that honor belongs to another EA game, FIFA 11, which released
last week to widespread acclaim from critics -- and widespread
wallet-opening by consumers. (And yes, in case you hadn't figured it
out, it involves the other kind of football.)

In fact, FIFA shifted a stunning 2.6 million copies across North
America and Europe in its first five days of availability, smashing last
year's performance by 29%.

EA Sports president Peter Moore described its success as a landmark achievement.

"We've shattered sales records at retail, critics are praising FIFA
11 as being one of the most authentic and innovative titles ever, and
fans are connecting and competing with other gamers around the world and
have logged a record number of online connected game sessions," he
said.

EA also notes that October 1 and 2, the first two days after the
game's European launch, were the busiest two-day period for EA Sports
online gaming in its history.